


The Third Wheel

by Spiria



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-10
Updated: 2015-12-10
Packaged: 2018-05-05 22:17:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5392337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spiria/pseuds/Spiria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It isn't just the two of them in that room - there's a third occupant whom Rio has long realized to be guilt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Third Wheel

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Qu-ko (Qu_the_Mighty)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Qu_the_Mighty/gifts).



> This is more a character study than an actual story. I had no idea where I was going with this and just let myself write. There's a lot of negativity associated with IV here, because he's got so much personal baggage with external consequences; surprisingly, it was almost therapeutic to explore. On the other hand, poor Rio internalizes everything. But enough said!

She awoke first. IV was no stranger to getting up early for appointments, but the previous night must have been deeply satisfying to put him to sleep this late into the morning. Rio lay beside him in bed, watching the steady rise and fall of IV’s chest as he slumbered. Loose strands of hair fell over his face, and she deliberated on reaching out and tucking them behind his hair.

Ultimately, she decided against it in favor of studying that very face undisturbed. He was on his stomach with his head turned in her direction, obscuring the unmarred side of his face. The scar nearly vanished under the mess of his blond hair, though, yet the sharp alignment of his eyebrows kept his features from appearing young. Still, he looked younger than he did during his waking hours, and Rio dimly recalled his charming 16-year-old self when he’d challenged her to a suspicious alley duel.

Why had she accepted, she wondered. They’d exchanged a few choice words, which had spiraled into a matter of pride as they’d argued and she’d been driven to take up her duel disk for her brother. The pointed conversation had been about Ryoga; she remembered the core aspects (IV had always excelled at starting altercations), but what she saw in her mind’s eye with vivid clarity was the fire that had swallowed her whole. Pursing her lips, she shifted her head against the pillow beneath her.

The duel had been her mistake and a reminder of her shortcoming as Ryoga’s protector - a role Durbe fulfilled with much more competence. Rio felt her cheeks warm with shame, burning stronger in her veins than the fire that had eaten away at her skin and stolen the scream out of her throat. At the end of the day, it was Ryoga who had set out to right the wrong and exact revenge in her stead.

She gave IV another long look, her gaze traveling from his scarred cheek to the faded scars lining the right side of his neck and shoulder - slipping down to his shoulder blade and the part of his back that he’d used to shield her body with his. She’d glimpsed the angry red patch of skin past burned fabric in her short moment of lucidity after he’d carried her out of the heart of the fire. Her own nerves had been alight, and then seeing a visual injury so up close had made them flare stronger. So she’d passed out.

Curiosity finally got the best of her and she reached out to finger the tip of the scar on IV’s face. Despite the clear edges and imprint, it felt no different from healthy skin. With a little more treatment when the wound had been fresh, the impeccable technology of Heartland City might have healed him completely. That the option had existed meant the scar was a choice.

Were she the more vindictive type, she might have reveled in his self-flagellation. But she wasn’t, and Rio felt her chest constrict. For all the respect and thought IV extended her, she was still a burdensome existence to him. Just as the scar was meant to remind him of his fatal mistake in the duel, her healthy body was physical evidence of the harsh recovery he’d put her through. Seeing the storm in IV’s eyes during his most pensive moments made her uneasy.

She should be angry, she thought, that he would put her through his baggage. Rio had long forgiven IV for what he’d done to her (the matter of her brother was another story and much more severe, and it was well that IV never brought it up), but he refused to forgive himself. The guilt was as stifling and destructive as it was indestructible. Nothing she said could allay IV’s concentrated regret, which wore her down to the rawest nerves like the strongest flames.

But she could not reprimand him. His powerful guilt was his atonement - even though he was doomed to never win Ryoga’s full forgiveness - but more importantly, Rio knew the extent to which IV loved and hated. He loved deeply, and that meant he could hate just as much; it so happened that the negative energy had been diverted inward, and he was obstinate enough to not budge on the matter. She’d lost count of how many times they’d played that game of tug o’ war and ended in an awkward tie.

She breathed out deeply. Under the tips of her fingers, IV stirred. Rio pulled back, greeting him with a neutral stare as his eyes cracked open, like she hadn’t been sizing him up the entire time.

“Good morning,” she said. “How are you feeling?”

IV nodded, his way of answering in the positive. He brushed aside the sheets and sat up. “When did you get up?”

“A little before you. It’s almost noon now. We’ve been sleeping for a long time.” Rio climbed out of bed and slipped on her slippers, feeling the weight of IV’s eyes on her back. “I’m going to get us something to eat. Join me at the kitchen when you’re ready.” She looked over her shoulder. “All right?”

She left the room after he nodded, raking her fingers through her hair to straighten it as she walked down the hallway. At least, she told herself, they were all getting into the rhythm of a natural, ordinary life. Much like the slow process of recovery as broken skin knitted itself back together, small steps had to be taken before the either of them could be absolved. Spurred on by this thought, Rio quickened her pace, the length of her strides increasing and gaining in speed to start the day proper.


End file.
